Calif. Woman Accused of Chopping Off Husband's Penis Due in Court

Catherine Kieu Becker, the woman arrested in July for chopping off her husband's penis and throwing it in the garbage disposal, is expected to appear in a Santa Ana, Calif., courtroom Monday for her arraignment.

On Thursday, Becker was indicted for felony counts of aggravated assault and mayhem. Since her arrest, she has been held on $1 million bail, and, if found guilty, Becker could face a life sentence without parole, according to ABC affiliate KABC-TV.

After Becker, 49, laced her husband's food with an unknown drug or poison, he lay down, believing something was wrong with the food, according to police reports. He woke up tied to the bed as Becker cut off his penis with a 10-inch knife. She then threw the genitalia in the garbage disposal and turned the unit on, Lt. Jeff Nightengale of Garden Grove, Calif. police, told ABCNews.com in July.

The husband had filed for divorce six months before the attack, but police could not confirm Becker's motivation.

Becker called 911 asking for medical assistance. When firefighters and police arrived, Becker told officials that her husband "deserved it," said Nightengale. Police found the man, who remains unidentified, tied to the bed and "bleeding profusely." Becker was arrested on several charges, including aggravated mayhem, false imprisonment and assault with a deadly weapon.

Her husband was rushed to University of California at Irvine Medical Center for treatment.

The victim's ex-wife, Dr. Manal Soliman, was in disbelief when she heard the news of her ex-husband's castration. Soliman was married to him for eight years before the couple divorced in 2002. She has never met her ex-husband's wife.

"He's a really nice person and I know he truly cared for her a lot," Soliman told ABCNews.com in July. "I heard they got to know each other at church. I don't know how a churchgoing woman could do something like that."